UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences Magazine - Spring 2019

SPRING 2019

GRADUATE HEALTH SCIENCES

Training Future Scientists

You are here Well, you could be.

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UTHSC Chancellor Steve J. Schwab, MD Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operations Officer Kennard Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE Dean, College of Graduate Health Sciences Donald B. Thomason, PhD Associate Dean, Student Affairs Isaac O. Donkor, PhD Associate Dean, Postdoctoral Affairs Monica Jablonski, PhD Associate Dean, Academic Affairs John V. Cox, PhD Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs Larry L. Tague Assistant Dean, Graduate Programs and Services Felicia Washington, MHSA

Table of Contents Letter from Dean Thomason.....................................................................................2 Letter from Chancellor Schwab...............................................................................3 Building the College’s Reputation......................................................................... 4 Spreading Love for Scientific Research...............................................................6 3MT Offers Researchers Friendly Competition................................................8 College Hosts Summer Interns from China......................................................10 Kumar Helps Students Make a Difference........................................................ 12

Program Coordinator Elizabeth Webb, MA

Albritton Interested in Helping Students Grow.............................................. 14

Program Coordinator Lyncie Crawford

Postdoctoral Research Day Spotlights Accomplishments....................... 16

Administrative Coordinator Jeddie Maxwell

Outstanding Junior Postdoc................................................................................... 18

Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs Love Collins, III, MBA Associate Vice Chancellor for Development Bethany Goolsby, JD

Outstanding Senior Postdoc..................................................................................20 UTHSC Offers Many Options for Research Career...................................... 22 CGHS Student Ready to Change the World................................................... 24

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development Services Jada Williams

College Briefs................................................................................................................. 26

Senior Director of Development Greg Harris

Congratulations to our 2018 Graduates!........................................................... 28

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Alumni Affairs Chandra Tuggle

2018 Donors and 1911 Society Givers.................................................................. 32

Director of Alumni Affairs Clinton Anderson, III Assistant Director of Alumni Programs Terri Catafygiotu Assistant Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Sally Badoud, MBA Editor Peggy Reisser Contributing Writers Peggy Reisser Amber Carter Jackie Denton Designer Adam Gaines Photographers Allen Gillespie David Pentecost Peter Barta

On the cover: Associate Professor Adebowale Adebiyi, in foreground, is pictured with Jeremiah Afolabi, DVM, MVSc, a first-year graduate student in cell biology and physiology, in Dr. Adebiyi’s high-performance liquid chromatography analytical lab.

Research in the lab investigates mechanisms of cardiovascular and kidney function and disease.

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admissions without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status.

Eligibility and other terms and conditions of employment benefits at The University of Tennessee are governed by laws and regulations of the State of Tennessee, and this non-discrimination statement is intended to be consistent with those laws and regulations.

In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, The University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the University.

Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), ADA (disability), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Equity and Diversity (OED), 910 Madison Avenue, Suite 826, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, telephone 901-448-7382 (V/TTY available). Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at the Office of Equity and Diversity. E073101(004-191112)

From the Dean I am proud to report that the research being done through the College of Graduate Health Sciences is reaching around the globe.

As we train the next generation of investigators, we are also changing the world. Under the direction and mentorship of our dedicated faculty, our outstanding trainees are researching aging, transplant complications, fungal infections, autism, cancer, auditory processing, and may other topics that impact human health.

The work by faculty and trainees is being published in prestigious national and international journals, including Neuron, Nature, Brain Research, and the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

In this way, we are strategically growing the reach and the reputation of our college. And in doing so, we are bringing attention and economic value to our university and our state. More importantly, we are bringing attention to the high quality of the trainees we have had the privilege of mentoring.

In addition to current programs for training these eager scientists, we continually explore opportunities to extend programs into needed areas. For example, we have recently begun the process of adding a new track to the Integrated Program in Biomedical Sciences — Rehabilitation Sciences. This track truly incorporates the integrated vision of the program by combining research areas of physiology, physical therapy, biomedical engineering, and regenerative medicine. This is one example of how we are growing through new and re-envisioned programs of research training.

We honor our distinguished alumni and ask you to join us in our mission to grow. Your support and engagement are vital as we continue to build upon the solid foundation of the College of Graduate Health Sciences.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Thomason, PhD Dean of the College of Graduate Health Sciences

From the Chancellor This is an exciting time for the College of Graduate Health Sciences. Dean Don Thomason has set many initiatives in motion that are designed to move the college, its faculty, and students into the future.

It is also an exciting time for the university as a whole.

In May, we opened the doors of our new $39.7 million Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation in Memphis. We have also begun a $70 million renovation to our Historic Quadrangle at the center of campus. This will bring us not only administrative offices, instructional space, and room for gatherings, but will also add state-of-the-art wet lab space to the more than 250,000 square feet of Grade A lab space already on campus.

I am happy to share a few other recent achievements. A new Economic Impact Report shows UTHSC contributed a record $4 billion to the state’s economy in Fiscal Year 2017. In addition, enrollment, graduation rates, and first-time board pass rates continue to climb. We have successfully recruited many top-tier faculty and researchers to the university, and our outstanding faculty and students have supported the community with hundreds of volunteer hours and free health services for the underserved.

We are proud of all the accomplishments. We are looking ahead. And we are grateful for the continued engagement and support from you, our wonderful alumni, in all we do.

Sincerely,

Steve J. Schwab, MD Chancellor The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

“We’ve received Digital Commons awards three times for being the most popular biomedical site as a new site.”

Larry Tague, Assistant Dean - Academic Affairs

Building the College’s Reputation for Quality Research

By Peggy Reisser

You could call Larry Tague the keeper of the numbers for UTHSC’s student scientific publications.

Tague is the assistant dean for academic affairs for the College of Graduate Health Sciences. In that role, he manages the university’s institutional repository of theses and dissertations. This may sound a bit like inside baseball to the non-academic, however, this digital archive of publications by students is a significant measure of the scientific achievement by the college and the university.

A few clicks of a mouse can speak volumes. “We’re able to actually look at the number of downloads taking place of our products (papers), where those downloads are going by country and institution, and analyze all of that data, so we can see how much exposure we have and how much our products are being used,” Tague said.

“That means a whole lot to the university,” he continued.

“That means our academic products are being very actively sought and downloaded.”

UTHSC has been posting theses and dissertations online since 1998, the early days of electronic delivery of scholarly papers. In collaboration with the UTHSC library, papers were posted by Tague through the Department of Physiology, where he worked at the time. Tague, as assistant dean in the College of Graduate Health Sciences, assumed responsibility for managing the process in 2008.

That year, the College of Graduate Health Sciences added the ProQuest digital repository (formerly University Microfilms International) to better secure, organize, and manage the intellectual property of students.

In January 2016, the college and the UTHSC Library joined the Digital Commons Network, a content management system that allows academic institutions to publish, manage, and thereby raise awareness for the publications it produces. The university’s site is now referred to as the UTHSC Institutional Repository.

“This makes it possible for the entire world to access what we produce,” Tague said. “In terms of distribution of academic information, it’s more widely available.”

For example, the university’s publications have been downloaded 38,864 times since 2016. The number of downloads for last year alone was 18,412. These are respectable numbers for a university and reflect favorably on the College of Graduate Health Sciences, since most of the papers are produced by students and trainees in the college.

Visitors to the university’s Digital Commons site can see not only numbers of downloads for individual papers and where the document is being downloaded, but whether it is for educational interest, commercial interest, governmental interest, a military entity, or a library. A sample of some recent numbers show 28,060 downloads in the United States, 1,252 downloads in China, and 635 downloads in Russia. Some institutions recently downloading include the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2,109 downloads; the National Institutes of Health, 89; and the Department of Veterans Affairs, 97.

This is a plus for student authors, who receive a small stipend from ProQuest for each download from its repository. It also serves to give them ideas of interest in their work. “That guides our students to where they need to be sending an application in terms of employment after they graduate,” Tague said.

Participation in Digital Commons is still fairly new for UTHSC and the College of Graduate Health Sciences.

However, it is proving successful. “We’ve received Digital Commons awards three times for being the most popular biomedical site as a new site,” Tague said.

To access UTHSC’s Digital Commons site, go to dc.uthsc.edu/dissertations.

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CGHS Alumnus Spreading Love for Scientific Research

By Peggy Reisser Chikezie Madu, PhD, a 2012 graduate of the UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences, is dedicated to preparing the next generation of scientists and researchers.

Dr. Madu is an advanced placement biology teacher at White Station High School and a dual-enrollment instructor at the University of Memphis.

He is directing a program in collaboration with UTHSC’s College of Graduate Health Sciences and Shelby County Schools to introduce high school students to more-sophisticated research and assist STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) instructors with delivering real world-level science, in the hope of encouraging more students to pursue careers in those fields. UTHSC is helping to provide funding, equipment, materials, and PhD students to act as mentors and instructors.

This collaboration is designed to produce a heightened interest in scientific research among the classroom students, while giving the graduate students a platform to hone presentation skills.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with high schools students,” Dr. Madu said. “Working with kids at this level, you get to experience a certain level of excitement that sometimes you don’t see when they get to college. When the light bulb comes on, it’s usually at this age. Their minds are still fresh and easy to mold, so when you expose them to some of these things they’ve never seen, they are very inquisitive and they really want to learn.”

Dr. Madu is no stranger to innovative teaching methods.

In 2017, he was selected as a Tennessee finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathmatics and Science Teaching. The prestigious award is the nation’s highest honor for teachers of mathematics and science.

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Dr. Madu holds a PhD in biomedical sciences and specialized in cancer research. He initiated what has become the “Real World STEM” program because he saw a need to provide more-advanced science curriculum than students normally receive given the demands of a public school environment.

“The curriculum seemed a little bit lateral, and I felt there was more the kids could learn about science than what the curriculum requires them to learn,” he said. “So I discussed with some professors, like Dr. Thomason (CGHS dean); my former mentor, Dr. Yi Lu; and some others, and there were all these different trainings offered to us.”

For example, Chester Brown, PhD, MD, professor of Pediatrics, and Genetics, Genomics and Informatics at UTHSC and Le Bonheur Children’s Hosptial, suggested accessing the Teaching the Genome Generation program at Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Connecticut, in which students are taught the basics in genetic engineering and molecular biology.

Initially, Dr. Madu has introduced the STEM program as an after-school option in line with other clubs. In 2018, 60 to 70 students from White Station were involved. This year so far, about 45 student have participated, and the program is expected to grow. Sometimes, students from neighboring schools join in. And the hope is to reach out to other schools.

The program uses pre-assembled classroom study kits for scientific experiments. One kit allows students to play the role of crime scene investigator using DNA evidence.

Another demonstrates the principles, results, and analysis of restriction digestion without the extra time needed to perform the digestion. Students use three different restriction enzymes to digest genomic DNA.

Dr. Chikezie Madu, a graduate of the UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences, is dedicated to introducing students to scientific research.

Still another explores bacterial transformation and gene regulation using a structured activity.

“This is open to any student,” he said. “We actually want the non-medical students to be as involved as the students who are pursung the medical programs, because the medical students will be exposed to this anyway when they get to college. We want students who are going into law, business, and other careers to have a very good foundation in biotechnology, because science is becoming infused in different areas and different fields and different careers. Also, to the layman, we don’t want them to get scared of science.“ He continued, “The history of research is tainted with stories like the Tuskegee Experiment, so we want especially minorities, African Americans, to look at

science as something they can trust again and be willing to participate in clinical trials or research, if they are called upon to help. If we have students who are not as interested in science as students who are going to pursue science, I think it will be a win for science in the long run.”

Dr. Madu also hopes that introducing higher level scientific research in high school will reduce some of the definicencies he notices in students at the college level.

Already, 10 students in his program have published their research in peer reviewed journals.

The college would like to purchase eight to 10 new STEM kits each year to bring to public school classrooms. The cost is about $15,000. If you are interested in helping this program, please visit giving.uthsc.edu/STEM.

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“The basic skills of public speaking and persuasive argument are very important, especially to scientists who are always having to plead their cause.�

Angela Taylor

3MT Brings Student Researchers Together for Friendly Competition

By Jackie Denton

It’s crucial for a band to have a steady beat. It’s also crucial for the brain to have a steady rhythm. Angela Taylor, winner of this year’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, led with this analogy when presenting her thesis, “Behavioral Modification of Cognitive Function in Diverse Brain Regions,” explaining to the audience that her research explores a “big squishy blob covered with wrinkles.”

The 3MT competition is hosted on campuses nationally and internationally and brings PhD candidates together to present their theses in 3 minutes using just one presentation slide. The event aims to push scientists to present their research so that it can be understood by the general population.

“This competition is practically useful,” said Taylor, who is in the Integrated Biomedical Sciences program. “Every scientist should be able to explain their research in a way that can be understood by anyone. The basic skills of public speaking and persuasive argument are very important, especially to scientists who are always having to plead their cause.”

Through research in a lab led by principal investigator Detlef Heck, PhD, associate professor, and Yu Liu, PhD, assistant professor, both from the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Taylor simultaneously uses electrophysiology and behavioral experiments to investigate how neural rhythms drive cognitive functions like spatial working memory and decision making.

“My thesis is that when the steady rhythms of the brain fall out of sync, things like your memory and decision making are also impaired. Now, that’s great for a mouse, but ultimately, I want to see how that affects humans, what makes these rhythms go out of sync, and most importantly, how to restore people back to health,” Taylor said, during her 3MT presentation.

Taylor said her passion for studying neuroscience began with her own journey toward mental health, sharing her experiences and frustrations with the current state of behavioral health care. “So when you are diagnosed with something, they have tons of different classes of drugs – you’ll start with one and it takes weeks to learn if it works and then there are side effects.

lacking, and we need to better understand how these diseases come about. What are the mechanisms of action that cause someone to have a mental illness, so that we can treat people more accurately and more effectively so they won’t have to go through that trial-and-error phase.

I know we are a long way off from that, but that’s where medicine is going, toward more personalized medicine.”

A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Taylor completed her undergraduate degree at Union University. After completing research in the UTHSC summer research program, she said she knew she wanted to live in Memphis and study at UTHSC. Taylor said she has enjoyed working with a small group of scientists in her program, allowing her to get one-on-one personal attention for her training.

The Graduate Student Executive Council hosted this year’s 3MT on October 26 in the Freeman Auditorium with 12 participants, the most participants in the three years since the event has been hosted on campus.

Judges were Chad Epps, MD, director of the UTHSC Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation; Lori Gonzalez, PhD, vice chancellor for UTHSC Academic, Faculty, and Student Affairs; and Jan Young, executive director of the Assisi Foundation of Memphis.

Nirnoy Dan was this year’s Runner Up, and Sanjana Haque was the People’s Choice. They are both pharmaceutical sciences students. In February, Haque attended the regional competition in Knoxville. Organized by the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools, more than 40 participants represented universities from the southern region at the competition.

“I was amazed by the quality of presentations,” Haque said. “The students who advanced were the ones who maintained a wonderful balance between science and humor, which kept the audience engaged the whole time. I would like to encourage more of our students to participate in the 3MT competition to hone their presentation skills and to learn to better communicate our science.”

The first 3MT was held in in Queensland, Austria in 2008.

It is now hosted by over 600 universities in more than 65 countries worldwide.

“I went through that whole process of trial and error and I’m going to go through that forever,” she said. “It’s just

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UTHSC Hosts Second Successful Harbin Summer Research Program

By Peggy Reisser For the second year, PhD students from Harbin Medical University in China spent time over the summer in research labs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

The UTHSC Harbin Summer Research Program brought five graduate students from China to spend a month on the Memphis campus.

“Our intent was to give them an experience here that might establish collaborations, and they might choose to do part of their research here in our program in the future,” said Donald Thomason, dean of the College of Graduate Health Sciences, which administers the program.

Dr. Thomason said the program gives the students from China the cultural experience of pursuing science in a different location, and has the potential of bringing exceptional students to UTHSC. Xuemei Fan, pictured at right, was one of the summer interns. She did research in the lab of Ae-Kyung Yi, PhD, professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Biochemistry. “I’m not good learning new equipment,” she said. Still, the intern indicated she would like to return to UTHSC to continue research training.

Dr. Thomason praised the faculty who were mentors to the summer interns. “The mentors were fantastic,” he said. “They really helped the students along and enjoyed having them here. Each one of them said, ‘I would love to have my student back.’ ”

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The mentors were: Gustavo Miranda-Carboni, PhD; AE-Kyung Yi, PhD; Ramesh Narayanan, PhD, MBA; Ansley Stanfill, PhD, RN; and Athena Davenport, PhD. To conclude their time at UTHSC, the interns presented their research to faculty, and by video, to officials of Harbin Medical University.

“The program is to expand UTHSC’s global reach and global recognition and to form partnerships with other universities,” said Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Biochemistry and director of the Integrated Biomedical Sciences program in the College of Graduate Health Sciences.

“They are excellent students and a benefit to us.”

UTHSC has four Harbin students in the second-year PhD program. They were not part of the summer intern program, however, one student from last year’s summer program is joining the college’s cancer research track.

Dr. Thomason said the summer program will continue. “Every year, we get a little bit better at it,” he said.

“The main message that I want my students to take away is making a difference.�

Santosh Kumar, PhD

2018 Excellence in Teaching Award: Santosh Kumar Strives to Help Students Make a Difference

By Amber Carter

For Santosh Kumar, PhD, teaching means not only passing on information to students, but also helping them to improve, train others, and change the lives of others.

“The main message that I want my students to take away is making a difference,” he said. “I encourage them to build themselves up each day by improving knowledge, action, and making others feel good about themselves.”

Dr. Kumar especially enjoys teaching students one on one.

“It gives me the opportunity to know their strengths and areas where they need help to improve,” he said. “I then tailor my approach toward their individual success.”

Dr. Kumar has received other accolades, including Pi Delta Chi’s Professor of the Year Award and the Outstanding Teacher Award from the UT Alumni Association.

Dr. Kumar, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Colleges of Pharmacy and Graduate Health Sciences at UTHSC, is a 2018 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award. He has been with the university for five years.

Dr. Kumar’s research focuses on the molecular mechanism underlying the interaction between HIV/AIDS and substance abuse, including alcohol, tobacco, and cocaine. His team also develops novel and effective treatment strategies for these patients.

The award, which is presented annually by the UTHSC Student Government Association Executive Council, is given to faculty members who demonstrate outstanding teaching ability, present materials in a way that sparks interest and independent thought, effectively organize and communicate subjects, are responsive to students inside and outside of classrooms, and show genuine concern for students’ learning.

“People living with HIV/AIDS suffer more from substance abuse than the normal population, which can lead to memory loss, mood change, aging, and early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Kumar said. “The current HIV therapy does not enter the brain in sufficient amounts and therefore it’s difficult to treat the HIV in the brain cells. Our goal is to define the molecular mechanism for HIV-substance abuse interactions and to develop treatment options that can deliver drugs into the brain effectively.”

Dr. Kumar teaches Fundamentals of Drug Action and Biochemistry to Pharmacy students and Drug Metabolism to Graduate Health Sciences students. “I love seeing the smiles on my students’ faces when they feel accomplished,” Dr. Kumar said. “I try to make the course materials enjoyable to learn by providing practical examples and analogies. I share small stories and use critical thinking approaches to retain the knowledge. I also mentor graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.”

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2018 SGAEC Excellence in Teaching Award: Lorraine Albritton Exhibits Genuine Interest in Helping Students Grow

By Jackie Denton

Lorraine Albritton, PhD, always wanted to do medical research. While she was a biomedical sciences graduate student at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a unique opportunity became available for her to follow her graduate adviser to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to complete research.

“While at MIT, I encountered a number of medical doctors who were doing research at MIT in my graduate lab and in other labs on the same floor,” Dr. Albritton said. “They were doing some incredible work, and I was inspired by them to want to always work in a college of medicine.”

Shortly after, she embarked on a quest to land a postdoctoral training position at a medical school, which led her to the Hematology Division of Harvard Medical School, where she was one of only two PhD fellows working daily with physicians.

“That was very inspiring and I really became excited about working with physicians. I definitely wanted to work with graduate students as well, and the health science center has given me the opportunity to have the best of both of those worlds, a strong basic science research program I could work in and develop in graduate student training and teaching in the graduate school,” Dr. Albritton said. “But I also have the opportunity to teach medical students and work with them to help them become better doctors.”

As a professor for three courses in the College of Graduate Health Sciences, a course in the College of Medicine, and a course in the College of Dentistry, Dr. Albritton’s passion for working with scientists and physicians has not gone unnoticed by students. In 2018, she was one of the recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Award presented by the Graduate Student Executive Council (GSEC) as part of the Student Government Association Executive Council’s annual awards banquet.

The award is presented to honor faculty on campus who show excellence in teaching and in their daily interactions with UTHSC students.

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Daniel Bastardo Blanco, who was the GSEC president at the time Dr. Albritton was honored, said her approachability and mentorship were some of the qualities students highlighted in her nomination.

“Mentoring is the most important element in our PhD training, just by the nature of our program,” Bastardo Blanco said. “So mentoring becomes the light that guides you through the process of unknowns, and counsels and guides you as to how to ask the right questions and how to answer those questions.”

Through her more than 25-year career at UTHSC, Dr. Albritton has worked with students not just on their classwork, but on development of their careers. She admits students come to her often for professional advice. “When I speak to students, I generally try to open their minds to the idea of where I think basic science is going and where the funding is going.” She has also served on career development events hosted by GSEC, including as a guest speaker on how best to do an elevator pitch and how to strengthen communication skills.

Dr. Albritton received a monetary prize with the Excellence in Teaching Award, which she gave back to the GSEC, so that a fund could be set up to host more events on career development.

“I really like the idea that the students use the donation for something that they see a need for in terms of preparing themselves for the jobs that are out there and the opportunities they can have. The sooner they find out about it, the better able they are to be really competitive.”

The fund has been earmarked by the GSEC for an upcoming professional development event.

“She is truly a fantastic faculty member, who really shows her enthusiasm, her knowledge, and genuine interest in her students,” Bastardo Blanco said. “Going beyond the lectures that she teaches, she is a very approachable faculty member, who is not only connected to students in the classroom. What really makes her special and unique is that she has a genuine interest in helping students.

She’s always available for answering any questions and providing guidance to students and PhD students.”

“When I speak to students, I generally try to open their minds to the idea of where I think basic science is going and where the funding is going.�

Lorraine Albritton, PhD

2018 Postdoctoral Research Day Showcases College’s Outstanding Investigators Each year, Postdoctoral Research Day shines the spotlight on the research being done in the College of Graduate Health Sciences. In December, the college hosted eight platform and 17 poster presentations.

“The quality of the science was outstanding,” said Monica Jablonski, PhD, FARVO, associate dean of the Postdoctoral Office and professor in the Departments

of Ophthalmology, and Anatomy and Neurobiology. “Dr. Lisa Jennings did a fantastic job as our keynote speaker, sharing with us her remarkable career journey. (Jennings, PhD, is the founder of CirQuest Labs and a professor of Medicine at UTHSC.) We had a full house and ran out of chairs for seating. It was a wonderful event.”

2018 WINNERS OF THE SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS AND TRAVEL AWARDS PLATFORM PRESENTATIONS

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

TRAVEL AWARDS

First Place Dr. Korah Kuruvilla, Department of Surgery, Dr. Ankush Gosain, mentor

First Place Dr. Meenakshi Tiwary, Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Amali Samarasinghe, mentor

Dr. Sunitha Kodidela, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Santosh Kumar, mentor

Second Place Dr. Roberto Cordero, Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, Dr. Claire Simpson, mentor Third Place Dr. Xuyant Tang, Department of Preventive Medicine, Dr. Rebecca Krukowski, mentor

Second Place Dr. Mohamed Moustafa Ibrahim, Department of Ophthalmology, Dr. Monica Jablonski, mentor

Dr. Darong Yang, Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Guoyun Chen, mentor Dr. Mohamed Moustafa Ibrahim, Department of Ophthalmology, Dr. Monica Jablonski, mentor

Third Place Dr. Avtar Meena, Department of Physiology, Dr. RK Rao, mentor

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Outstanding Junior Postdoc Raji Rajesh Lenin, PhD UTHSC Inspires Postdoc with Excellent Research Opportunities HOMETOWN: Ambasamudram, Tamil Nadu, India UNDERGRADUATE: Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Kerala University, India GRADUATE: Master of Science in Biotechnology from Alagappa University, India DOCTORATE: PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Madras, India POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW: Dr. Lenin is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Rajashekhar Gangaraju, PhD, assistant professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Anatomy and Neurobiology in the UTHSC College of Medicine. Her research study focuses on the endothelial activation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling in diabetic retinopathy, a progressive eye disease. Her research team specifically addresses the regulation of tight junction alterations in endothelial cells.

They use in vitro and in vivo models of endothelial activation and its subsequent impact on visual functions.

Their current studies aim to explore the molecular mechanisms of ER stress signaling and its effects on vision and the cardiovascular system. Their long-term goal is to develop novel therapeutic drugs that address retinal ER stress mechanisms for prevention, as well as treatment strategies related to diabetes complications.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE UTHSC FOR YOUR FELLOWSHIP? Traveling from Tamil Nadu to Tennessee was like a home away from home. I chose UTHSC for its ability to provide exceptional opportunities to the research fellows, particularly for translational research, and its rich diversity in academic programs that encompass several colleges, including Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Medicine.

UTHSC offers a unique background for groundbreaking research opportunities. Several intramural grant opportunities, like the CORNET (Collaborative Research Network) and the Neuroscience Institute postdoctoral fellowship grants, are a plus. I feel quite inspired by the positive ecosystem that is UTHSC.

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WHY ARE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS IMPORTANT? Postdoctoral training is a stepping-stone that opens the door to more independent thinking, leadership, and management of research programs under the preceptorship of an experienced mentor.

While the graduate program offers a structured research environment, postdoctoral training goes beyond that, teaching individuals to think outside the box. Skill sets that are learned through postdoctoral training include, but are not limited to, grant writing skills, mentoring junior staff, and day-to-day lab management. All these abilities will help a Postdoctoral Fellow decide if he or she wants to work in an academic setting or an industrial position.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT SO FAR? My most memorable moments have been receiving the Alston Callahan Postdoctoral Fellowship from the International Retinal Research Foundation, as well as being named the Outstanding Junior Postdoc at UTHSC. WHY IS YOUR AREA OF RESEARCH SIGNIFICANT? Diabetic retinopathy is the most common neurovascular complication in patients with long-standing diabetes, not only in the United States, but across the world. It cannot be cured. But some preventive and control measures, such as blood glucose and blood pressure regulation, have been developed. Considering the limitations of available therapies and the large socio-economic burden, there is an urgent need to develop effective measures for the treatment of this disease.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? I plan to continue my diabetic retinopathy research. Our team recently submitted an R01 grant to NIH on which I serve as a postdoctoral associate. In addition, I plan to apply for multiple grants as a scientist aide that will help establish a firm root in retinal diseases. Upon completion of my fellowship, I will specialize in vascular biology as it relates to ophthalmic diseases.

Outstanding Senior Postdoc: S.M. Raquibul Hasan Clear Career Plan, Hard Work, Excellent Mentors Key to Success HOMETOWN: Raipur, Jibannagar, Chuadanga, Bangladesh UNDERGRADUATE: Bachelor of Pharmacy from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh GRADUATE: Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh DOCTORATE: PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW: Dr. Hasan formerly was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Jonathan H. Jaggar, PhD, Bronstein Endowed Professor of Physiology at UTHSC. Dr. Hasan’s research focused on how blood vessel diameter is regulated by specialized proteins, called ion channels. He is now an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE UTHSC FOR YOUR FELLOWSHIP? Following my PhD, I decided to focus my future research on vascular biology, because cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disabilities in the world. After careful consideration of several postdoctoral positions at John’s Hopkins, Washington University, and Mount Sinai Hospital, I finally chose to pursue my postdoc training at UTHSC with Dr. Jonathan Jaggar, who is a leader in vascular ion channel research. During my interview with Dr. Jaggar, I discussed my expectations from the postdoc position at UTHSC in terms of research goals and career plan, and it worked out well.

WHY ARE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS IMPORTANT? The general trend is that life science PhD students carry out their research under close supervision of their mentor. In contrast, postdoctoral fellowships are semiindependent, where fellows acquire and often expand the

technical and professional skills required to pursue a career path of their choice. Postdoc fellowships also provide great opportunity to learn more about study design, conducting research, critical analysis, writing research and reviewing articles, writing competitive grants, peer reviewing, and collaboration with other scientists.

WHY IS YOUR RESEARCH SIGNIFICANT? Cells of our blood vessels contain ion channels that regulate their diameter and therefore our blood pressure. My research has been about identifying mechanism of expression and function of PKD2, an ion channel implicated in a lethal kidney disease, called autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease or ADPKD. Apart from kidney damage, ADPKD patients have high blood pressure and weakened blood vessels, which increase the risk of stroke and heart attack. Therefore, understanding how PKD2 function is regulated in blood vessels has the potential for novel therapeutic intervention of high blood pressure and related disorders.

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU OFFER? Have a clear career plan, work hard to achieve your goals, be in constant touch with your research mentor, have a professional mentor for career advice, and reach out to friends and the UT Postdoctoral Association for any help.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION? I have set up my first independent research laboratory at Mercer University in Atlanta to continue my vascular biology research. My primary responsibility is to supervise PhD students and to teach select modules on cardiovascular and renal disorders to PharmD students. I also support visiting and summer research students and trainees participating in our research program in gaining hands-on experience necessary for pursuing graduate education, fellowship, and a research-oriented career.

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CGHS Student Says UTHSC Offers Many Options to Build Research Career

By Peggy Reisser

PhD student RJ Autry says he is exactly where he wants to be at this point in life.

The 32-year-old is in his fifth year in the College of Graduate Health Sciences at UTHSC and expects to graduate this year. He is married, has two small children, and spends his days in a research lab at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital pursuing therapies to mitigate drug resistance in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Autry, who is from Memphis, serves as president of the college’s Graduate Student Executive Council (GSEC) and is a representative on Student Government Association Executive Council. He enjoyed doing research while getting his master’s degree in biology at the University of Memphis. He has stayed in Memphis because he found the opportunities he desired at UTHSC and St. Jude.

“I fell in love with doing research in my undergrad, especially genetic,” Autry said. “The dual program between St. Jude and UTHSC offered just a whole lot of options. I wanted to do cancer, so there’s good options at both UTHSC and St. Jude for that.”

For almost four years, his mentor has been William Evans, PharmD, Endowed Chair in Pharmacogenomics at St. Jude. “I knew I wanted to work with drugs and with drug resistance. I found my boss, who is a very established in that field,” Autry said.

In Dr. Evans’ lab, Autry works on identifying genetic markers that influence drug resistance to the steroid prednisone in pediatric ALL, a common childhood cancer.

“There are multiple different ways people can become resistant to prednisone. We’re finding new mechanisms for how that happens,” he said. “We hope that this research leads to ways to mitigate that resistance with already-in-use options for clinical use, and also in future studies, we hope to look at new targets and new drugs that are able to take advantage of our studies in the genetics side of it to combat resistance.”

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While he doesn’t work directly treating children at St. Jude, Autry, whose wife, Lindsy, is a fundraiser for ALSAC, says the patients inspire him on his research mission.

“To deliver babies was my goal as a child, then that changed as I got older,” Autry said. “I really like kids and I like the idea of pediatrics, but the most important thing to me was cancer and drug research. The mission of St. Jude has always been very close to my heart because I’m from Memphis.”

Eventually, Autry hopes run his own lab and do research of a similar type in pharmacogenomics.

“I’m looking at doing postdocs and other opportunities when I graduate,” he said. “I will definitely go down the academia career research track.”

And as he follows in the footsteps of other successful graduates of the College of Graduate Health Sciences, he hopes to learn from them.

“It is a hard world out there when you graduate as a scientist with a PhD,” he said. “It’s always really helpful to us to try to learn from people who have done it.”

“RJ has served our Graduate Students Executive Council very well,” said Isaac Donkor, PhD, MS, BPharm, associate dean for students and recruitment in the college and a professor of pharmaceutical sciences. “Despite the demands on his life as a graduate student, a husband, and a dad, he finds time to think about ways of helping the campus to achieve its Quality Enhancement Plan goals. Under his leadership, GSEC is in the process of putting together a Fall Symposium that will include conversation on the social determinants of health. As president, RJ has led GSEC with maturity, enthusiasm, and humor.”

“The dual program between St. Jude and UTHSC offered just a whole lot of options. I wanted to do cancer, so there’s good options at both UTHSC and St. Jude for that.”

RJ Autry, PhD Student

“I realized my passion really was for science and for research, and I wanted to do my work in such a way that it would have an impact on people..�

Daniel Bastardo Blanco, PhD Student

UTHSC Student Daniel Bastardo Blanco Ready to Change the World College of Graduate Health Sciences student Daniel Bastardo Blanco considers himself a citizen of the world.

Born in Venezuela, the 27-year-old is primed to explore what the world has to offer. But for now, he’s happy to live in Memphis and be working toward his PhD in biomedical sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

“I came to Memphis because of St. Jude (Children’s Research Hospital), but I fell in love with Memphis because of Memphis,” Bastardo Blanco says. “I think Memphis is such a great city for culture and history, and people are just lovely. There’s so much to do, so much art, so much music, and I love that very much about the city. Also, I recognize so many challenges the city faces, but I love the fact people are so passionate about fixing the challenges.”

Bastardo Blanco left Venezuela at age 16 to study in the United States. He had planned to attend veterinary school in his home country, until his mother heard on the radio about a study abroad scholarship program for sports stars expanding for the first time to academic stars. “That was my fit, so I decided to participate,” he says.

He competed against more than 100 students and was accepted into the program, receiving a scholarship to study at Elmira College in New York. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in biology.

“I realized my passion really was for science and for research, and I wanted to do my work in such a way that it would have an impact on people,” Bastardo Blanco says. “That’s how I decided to pursue a career in sciences and to get a PhD.” He applied to multiple research programs with a close connection to a health system or hospital. He had done a summer internship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and loved an environment where the research was so close to the patient.

Bastardo Blanco came to UTHSC in 2013 because of its partnership with St. Jude. He now works in the St. Jude lab of Hongbo Chi, PhD, studying immune metabolism, or the metabolic pathways of T-cells. In particular, he is interested in understanding how glycolysis affects T-cell-mediated immune responses, with the goal of finding ways to block tumor growth.

“When I came to UTHSC to do my PhD, I was very focused and I wanted to continue to do a postdoc,” he says. Now, he is exploring various careers in science related to entrepreneurship and communications.

“I am looking at working with either a nonprofit organization or start-up companies, where I can help them with their communication projects explaining to investors what science is behind the inventions so they can have the investments,” Bastardo Blanco says. “Or, working with communities to teach people or help people understand the importance of the science, why it is important for them, and how it can relate to them.”

Bastardo Blanco has used his time at UTHSC, to develop not only his scientific side, but his nature as a people person.

He has helped organize the city’s Taste of Science week, an annual festival to celebrate science. Researchers are stationed at bars and coffee shops nightly to talk about their areas of research. Most recently, he took charge of the grad student night.

Bastardo Blanco has been active in student government in the College of Graduate Health Sciences. He has served as president of the Graduate Student Executive Council (GSEC).

Last year, he was a co-first author on a paper published in Science Immunology and featured on the cover of the journal.

He is also active with Venezolanos en Memphis, a local alliance representing and supporting Venezuelans in the city. The group has offered support to Venezuelans arriving in Memphis, and raised awareness about issues in their home country.

Donald Thomason, PhD, dean of the College of Graduate Health Sciences, says Bastardo Blanco’s enthusiasm and energy are infectious. “This is a trait that not only makes him a good leader, it also doesn’t let hurdles slow him down in progressing toward a goal.”

Bastardo Blanco is pleased that he has helped the GSEC to draft a strategic plan for the future that includes expanding resources for graduate students, increasing career coaching and training, and helping them become more aware of alternative careers outside the lab.

“Often in academia, we don’t realize how many options we have,” Bastardo Blanco says. “My interests have shifted out of academia and I’ve come to realize there are not that many resources available for us. We have been working at expanding resources for graduate students and trying to promote more career coaching and more training opportunities for students to realize how many different skills they learn throughout their PhD training.”

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Graduate Research Day More than 40 students presented their research at the 2018 Graduate Research Day. With support from the Graduate Student Executive Council, the day included poster and oral presentations showcasing the impressive quality and variety of research done by students in the college.

Much Appreciated National Postdoc Appreciation Week was held in September. Sponsored by the Postdoctoral Association, the week offered networking, learning, and a chance to have fun. It featured a mentor/ postdoc panel discussion and a lunchtime picnic (shown here) at the Student-Alumni Center.

Grad Student Research Recognized The prestigious neuroscience journal Neuron published a manuscript by Sarah Neuner, a graduate student in the Integrated Biomedical Sciences program at UTHSC. The paper, “Harnessing Genetic Complexity to Enhance Translatability of Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Models: A Path toward Precision Medicine,” is based on Neuner’s thesis work and looks at the role of genetics in susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease. Neuner started at UTHSC in 2013 under the mentorship of Catherine Kaczorowski, PhD, who is now at The Jackson Laboratory in Maine. Neuner is completing her research there, however, she remains a UTHSC student under the mentorship of Robert Williams, PhD. She plans to graduate in May.

Presenting Success Jeddie Maxwell, administrative coordinator for the College of Graduate Health Sciences, serves on the Graduate Career Consortium Virtual Career Fair Committee. Along with members from University of California, Riverside, and Cornell University, she helped organize the group’s virtual career fair. She was invited to present the results of the fair at the Graduate Career Consortium 2018 Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, in June.

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BSA Award Karen Ann Martin, a Speech and Hearing Science PhD candidate, was among eight outstanding students honored at the 2018 BSA Awards & Recognition Banquet. Growing up in Jamaica, Martin earned a teaching diploma and worked as a teacher for three years before completing her BSc and MSc degrees in communication disorders at Western Carolina University. She has completed three research projects, and is working on her dissertation. Martin has presented her research at conferences throughout the country, including to the American Auditory Society, the CI Crash Conference, the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, and the American Academy of Audiology.

Martin also serves as a course instructor for undergraduate students and works part time as a clinician.

2018 Graduate’s Research Published Samit Ganguly, PhD, credits UTHSC and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with strengthening his research interest as a biomedical scientist. “I would not be the scientist I am today, if not for the research exposure at both institutions.” A 2018 graduate of the College of Graduate Health Sciences, Dr. Ganguly recently had part of his research published in two articles in Drug Metabolism and Disposition, a journal that highlights the latest findings in pharmacology and toxicology research. A former researcher at AstraZeneca, Dr. Ganguly focuses on understanding the processes that govern the concentration of a drug in blood and tissues (pharmacokinetics or PK) that leads to desired or undesired effects of the drug. Dr. Ganguly earned his PhD in Biomedical Sciences in the Cancer and Developmental Biology track and is pursuing postdoctoral training in clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Outstanding Presentation Kinsie Arnst, PhD, who graduated in December 2018, received the 2018 Robert A. Magarian Outstanding Podium Presentation recognition at MALTO 2018.

Arnst’s presentation was titled, “DJ101 targets the colchicine binding site on tubulin and overcomes taxane resistance.”

Arnst competed with medicinal chemistry graduate students from colleges of pharmacy in Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas for the highly competitive award. She trained in the lab of Wei Li, PhD.

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Congratulations to Our 2018 Graduates!

SPRING COMMENCEMENT DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Christopher Trent Brewer Lacretia Shanae Carroll David Evans Jenson Aarti Sethuraman Sarah Garland Whaley Xue Zhai

MASTER OF DENTAL SCIENCE Maria Liliana Bernal Jody LaVaun Clements Cayce Connolly Cloud Martina Emilova Elenkova Joshua Adam Evensky Rebekah L. Goforth Ovy Quintanal Jacob Linton Sword

MASTER OF SCIENCE Christina Carpenter Sri Chandana Reddy Damera Meredith Perkins Anthony Shaun Rowe Arun Saini Laura V. Versa Sarah Hisham Abdelaziz Youssef

MASTER OF DENTAL SCIENCE Paul Douglas Edgerley Gail M. Silveira Chad M. Salven Mary Austin Smith

Victoria Charlotte Loudon-Hossler Louis J. Magnotti Nathan Ronald Manley Reagan Elizabeth Mead LaDarius M. Millen Sarah E. Naids Julisa Nunez Emily Lauren O’Neill Benjamin John Patters Abigail Leigh Phipps Keith R. Pierce Ethan Dylan Pollack John Joseph Schuetz Sanjaya K. Satapathy Bryan Edward Shannon Bryan R. Simrak Sybil Elizabeth Watkins Tianhua Wu

WINTER COMMENCEMENT DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Kinsie Elisa Arnst Tara Calico Cherry Dabolina Ganguly Samit Ganguly Zachary Goldsmith Rachel Escue Helms Viraj Paresh Ichhaporia Matthew Karl Kirchner Diwa Koirala Doaa Nabih Ahmed Maria Sabina Ranjit Louis Saites Cheng Tian Qifan Zhu

MASTER OF SCIENCE Scott Aaron Armstrong Savannah Diane Blackwell Elizabeth Channing Brogdon Jonathan Elliott Cain Jonathan C. Chapman Brandon M. Clausen Nicholas Oscar Gerard III William Hammond Sripraharsha Srujan Jampana Raju Marion A. Joni Trevor Todd Kepler Lindsey Carol Lane Norman Lewis Leeper III

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Why Make an Annual Gift to UTHSC? Donating to UTHSC every year helps us provide scholarships, laboratory equipment, travel grants, community outreach initiatives, and many other benefits that would not be available using state or tuition-provided dollars alone!

Thank you for being a partner with our campus, our colleges, and our programs.

Your gift in any amount will make a difference.

Donate $100 or more and become a member of our 1911 Society!

For details, go to giving.uthsc.edu/1911.

Make your gift today! giving.uthsc.edu/give | 901.448.5516

Thank You for Your Membership in the 1911 Society The 1911 Society recognizes the generosity of UTHSC financial supporters who are critical to our mission of educating some of the best minds, conducting innovative research, and improving health throughout our community.

Membership in the 1911 Society is granted across levels: Annual Giving Partners, who make a donation of $100 or more to our Annual Giving Program in any given fiscal year; Sustaining Partners, who give annually at any amount for five or more consecutive years; and Lifetime Partners, who make cumulative commitments of $25,000 or more during their lifetime.

To retain membership in the 1911 Society, simply renew your annual gift!

Donating to UTHSC every year gives you the continued satisfaction of helping us provide scholarships, laboratory equipment, travel grants, and many other benefits that would not be available using state or tuition-provided dollars alone.

Thank you for being a partner with our campus, our colleges and our programs. There are many opportunities to renew your giving — or make your first gift — throughout the year. Whether we connect via mail, telephone, or email giving opportunities, please take a moment to make a difference for our students, faculty, and researchers through a donation to the Annual Giving Program.

Please make your secure online gift today by visiting giving. uthsc.edu/give. Your support is critical to strengthen our impact here in Memphis, across the state, and throughout the world. UTHSC is grateful for your partnership. For more information, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at (901) 448-5516 or visit online at uthscalumni.com/1911.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center offers a number of vehicles through which you can make a gift. Cash gifts can be made online, through mail, or over the phone.

Other ways to give include: matching gifts, gifts of stocks or bonds, real estate, gifts in kind, and various planned giving options, which can be incorporated into your overall estate plan. Each is an excellent way to support UTHSC!

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Fiscal Year 2018 Donors and 1911 Society Annual Giving Partners Kristopher Arheart * Myra P. and Robert E. Baughn * Justin Dran Boyd Ann and Ted Cashion * Basil Thomas and Maria K. Doumas Mary Ellen Duffy Sirisha Duvvuru Patricia M. Flynn * Naomi M. Gades and Leonardo Llames * Li Gao * Yuan Gao and Zhomgming Yang * Hazem Elsayed Ghoneim Thomas M. Gilbert * Sanford L. Jones Richard G. and Susan G. Lane * Taisheng and Emmeline Lee * Ling Li Anobel Maghsoodpour * Alessandra Manzon Amy C. and A. Daniel Martin III * Robert K. and Kimberly McGhee * Annie Xiaoyan Mo and Brian Zhang * Louise Johnson and Larry Murphy Lance S. and Susan A. Patton Ning Quan * James Patrick Ryan * Thomas M. Saba * Joan and Dudley P. Schaefer, Sr. Trinidad B. and Lynn Scott Rose Mary Stiffin Joyce Diamond and Alvin Stone Yichun Sun * Donald B. and Laura Ann Malinik Thomason * Alina Nico West Edward J. and Jane Westerbeke * Jason Brett Wilson Zao Cheng Xu * Ji-Wei Yang * Ji Zhang Xiaozhang Zheng Yanli Zhuang and Yingxu Peng * * denotes individuals who are 1911 Society Annual Giving Partners for Fiscal Year 2018

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1911 Society Sustaining Partners (The following individuals have included the College of Graduate Health Sciences in five+ consecutive years of giving to the UT Health Science Center.)

ARCHWAY PARTNERS (5-9 Consecutive Years) Paul Taylor and Victoria Akins Frank N. Anthony John T. Beuerlein Mark Wesley and Vicki K. Burton Paul F. and Eva Consroe Tripp and Holley Dargie Mary Ellen Duffy Naomi M. Gades and Leonardo Llames Mary Givens Henry J. and Christine Cobb Hasselle Jerome J. and Barbara P. Heiny Sanford L. Jones Richard G. and Susan G. Lane LaNelle Wells Lindsey Rebecca Kristin Moss Richard Townsend and Beverly O’Kell Richard D. and Patricia A. Peppler John Douglas A. and Ann Poindexter Joan and Dudley P. Schaefer, Sr. Frankie Featherstone and Thomas F. Scott, Jr. James E. and Dorothy A. Stockdale Yichun Sun Timothy L. and Diane F. Tucker Edward J. and Jane Westerbeke Zao Cheng Xu

CORNERSTONE PARTNERS (10-19 Consecutive Years) Daniel G. and Misty Lynn Deana David J. and Anne Lancaster DeNuccio Thomas M. Gilbert Sue Harpole and Edwin Nelson Strother, Jr. David K. and Lisa Kyle Jennings Gertrude M. Killen Garner E. and Mildred Jesse Robinson James Patrick Ryan Joyce Diamond and Alvin Stone Donald B. and Laura Ann Malinick Thomason

FOUNDATION PARTNERS (20+ Consecutive Years)

Andrew E. Painter Jack and Connie L. Childs Mustafa and Sahar Dabbous

1911 Society Lifetime Partners (The following individuals have included the College of Graduate Health Sciences in their total lifetime giving to the UT Health Science Center.)

Leave Your Legacy

LEADER PARTNERS ($25,000 - $99,999)

Paul Taylor and Victoria Akins Virginia Ruffin Boone Mary Givens Rampurna Prasad Gullapalli Posey G. Hedges, Jr. Johnson & Johnson Eldridge F. Johnson Fred A. and Raisa E. Killeffer Judy Carbage Martin and Willie E. Martin, Jr. James G. McClure Joe Marshall and Phyllis Vaughan Moody Helen C. and Wells Moorehead Richard D. and Patricia A. Peppler Bettye M. and Tracy S. Speake Joyce S. Summitt Timothy L. and Diane F. Tucker Charles Andy Vondran, Jr. Beverly J. Williams-Cleaves and Calvin Cleaves Robert J. and Deede S. Wyatt

FELLOW PARTNERS ($100,000 - $249,999) John Autian Belz Foundation Michael A. and Sarah A. Carter W. W. and Ann Diggs Estate of Bernice Humphreys Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Lorraine Marguardt Kraus John P. Phillips and June Helen Dunbar PhRMA Foundation Barbara Zerbe and John W. Runyan, Jr. Semmes-Murphey Clinic

Have you thought about the legacy you will leave behind?

With a Planned Gift, you can: • Simplify your estate for your family • Reduce the tax burden applied to your assets • Benefit causes you hold dear

Legacy donors become members of the Hershel “Pat” Wall Legacy Society Dr. Wall’s 50 years of dedication as a student, faculty member, and administrator to UTHSC are unsurpassed. His legacy will live forever, as will the impact made by our donors.

For more information about planned gifts to UTHSC and Legacy Society membership, contact Bethany Goolsby at 901.448.5516 or estateplans@uthsc.edu.

BENEFACTOR PARTNERS ($250,000 – $499,999) GlaxoSmithKline Foundation James T. and Valeria B. Robertson

FOUNDING PARTNERS ($500,000 - $999,999) Abbott Laboratories Merck & Company, Inc. Pfizer Foundation

LAUREATE PARTNERS ($1 million and above) American Heart Association Dorothy Snider Foundation Fred E. Hatch, Jr. University Clinical Health

THANK YOU FOR BEING A LEGACY SOCIETY MEMBER! Wells and Helen C. Moorehead

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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Memphis, TN Permit No. 4026 Office of Development and Alumni Affairs 62 S. Dunlap, Suite 500 Memphis, TN 38163 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

SAVE THE DATE! 2019 GOLDEN GRADUATE HOMECOMING OCTOBER 16–18 | MEMPHIS, TN Honoring graduates of 1969 from all six UTHSC colleges.

Join your classmates in Memphis for your 50th reunion celebration!

Please watch your mailbox for a detailed event brochure.

THIS YEAR’S EVENTS INCLUDE: Dinner at Charlie Vergos Rendezvous College Open Houses and a tour of the new Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS) Golden Graduate Homecoming Ceremony and Dinner at the Peabody Hotel

For more information, contact Terri Catafygiotu, Assistant Director for Alumni Programs, at tcatafyg@uthsc.edu or 901.448.8580.